BRIDGEPORT — With all the fanfare of a block party in October 2025, Mayor Joe Ganim, elected state and city officials and M&T Bank executives kicked off the bank’s newest branch in the city’s East End as part of the $14 million Honey Locust Square.
Now some five months later the bank branch and refurbished Newfield Library are the only two elements of the shopping center that are in business. That is because the general contractor Ashlar Construction, which is owned by Anthony Stewart, is struggling to come up with $700,000 in funding to complete the construction of an anchor grocery store, hair salon and restaurant.
“It’s all on me,” Stewart told the Fairfield County Business Journal. “The bank and everyone else have been fine. They are not to blame.”
He hopes to come up with enough money to open the Gala Foods grocery store by the summer. “I’m just trying to sell some of my real estate and move some things around to raise money. If I had the money today, I could open the grocery store in 60 days.”
He did say that he expects “something big” to happen in the next month where he will come up with the necessary funds.
While the buildings have been completed, there is still some interior work that is needed, such as painting, sheet rock and insulation installation. But Stewart did say all the necessary utilities have been installed. “It’s all powered up,” he said.
The Gala Foods would be the third location in Bridgeport; the other two are located at 1050 E. Main St. and 1457 Fairfield Ave.
The bank branch occupies 1,538 square feet at 1224 Stratford Avenue. It features teller service, a walk-up ATM, and private offices for financial consultations designed to meet a broad range of customer needs, from everyday transactions to mortgage assistance and small business support.
Honey Locust Square is a 32,000-to-35,000-square-foot commercial development on Stratford Avenue, designed to eliminate a food and banking desert. The Newfield Library was completed in 2022. It originally included a pharmacy, but that business has pulled out.
Stewart also faces some financial hardship involving the project as Ashlar has been ordered to pay three creditors a total of $463,536 related to Honey Locust Square. The debt, which was ordered to be paid by a Bridgeport court, includes $417,334 to Newtown Savings Bank for nonpayment of a $350,000 line of credit/loan, along with interest, interest and fees; $20,645 to Middlesex Insurance Co. for nonpayment of a premium; $17,500 in unpaid bills to L&W Supply of North Haven; $8,057 to Connecticut Plate and Art Glass Inc. for nonpayment of a glass door built for the bank branch.
Through a request from Mayor Ganim’s office, Stewart’s Honey Locust Square project received $3.5 million from the Community Investment Fund in 2023. The money was supposed to pay for the interior of the supermarket and installation of underground utilities. The City of Bridgeport also kicked in $988,000 in financing, which included $400,000 from federal American Rescue Plan funds. Earlier in 2021, Ashlar received a $2 million loan from the Leviticus Fund.
